The World Under Destruction
by Lemon Lain
Summary: Years after the repelling of Xenojiva, the outside world receives an urgent distress signal from Astera. Destruction is all the news they were given, prompting for them to set up an elite contraband to counter what horrors may await. The story follows a greatsword weilder named Desta and her team of hunters as they travel the land to discover the horrifying truth of Astara's fate.


The World Under Destruction

A Monster Hunter World Fan-fiction

Chapter 1: An Un-Welcome Party

"So what do think happened Desta? Everyone seems to be insanely on edge about it all," a hunter clad in leather spoke across the table. The bottom portion of the long voyage sailing vessel was rather large, allowing for both a mess hall and sleeping quarters. The women referred to as Desta stood around 6 feet tall in armor, her figure perfectly crafted as a result of her training and hunting experiences. As a result of a vicious hunt, she had a head sash the covered one of her eyes, the other a striking, sky blue. Her helmet laid upon the table, her armor crafted from premium Zinorge parts that had been properly groomed and maintained to keep its electrifying luster. Yawning and stretching Desta smirked, turning her gaze to the handler across the table.

"My guess is Astera fell, otherwise they wouldn't be calling in all the premium hunters they could scrounge up for the voyage. I sincerely hope that's not the case, but should it be. I'm read for anything," Desta said, the table shaking as she plopped her greatsword onto it. To the surprise of a few hunters that peeked over at it, it wasn't made of any monster parts, just a large slab of stone sharpened with ancient inscriptions written all over it.

Desta began rewrapping the long handle, improving its ability to be gripped as the boat began to sway. The swaying was gentle at first, just a little choppy waters that they had to transverse. The closer they grew however, the waters grew worse and worse until finally, a roar could be faintly heard from beneath the ship. The air shook as another stung the air, this time from overhead. A toothy smiled spanned upon Desta's face, raising to her feet and snapping her greatsword to her back.

"Looks like the welcome wagon is here. Stay down here where it's safe, I'll handle these pests with some help from the other hunters," Desta said, dashing towards the steps that led out onto the main deck. The salty smell of the sea drenched the decked as the tides grew violent, the roar from overhead sounding off again. Desta looked up, her eye gazing in disbelief as it spotted a Seregios circling the ship.u

"The hell...there shouldn't be Seregios out here. I'm getting a very bad feeling about this..." The hunter to her right said, readying their sword and shield. Desta placed her hand on her greatsword's handle, keeping her attention locked on the Seregios as it circled closer to the ship. Suddenly, the sizzling sound of electricity surged from beneath the ship, the ship now tilting heavily to the left side. A claw latched onto the top edge of the ship, the head of a over familiar wyvern peeking over as it climbed onto the deck.

"LAGIACRUS ON THE DECK!" a hunter shouted, the Lagiacrus shaking the deck with a ferocious roar. More hunters surged onto the large deck, all of them with their weapons at the ready. The loud, blasting sounds from heavy begins rang from the rear, the shells pelting at Lagiacrus in a dazzling display of fire power. Desta, along with the sword and shield user and a lance user that ran to the front began their assault, Desta running at full speed before unsheathing her greatsword into a vicious swing that dug itself into Lagiacrus's left leg.

"Hi there big boy!" Desta snickered playfully, finishing her swing to remove her greatsword from its armored flesh. It's head turned to the sword and shield, quickly shifting its body to swing hard at him. He quickly shielded, his feet scrapping across the damp deck to a stop. The Lagiacrus went to charge the sword and shield again, this time being stopped by the hefty lance weilder, his shield not so much as flinching from the impact.

"The Seregios is making it's move!" The sword and shield shouted, all of the bow user drawing their bows and taking aim. At this point the deck was becoming crowded, with nearly 10 hunters running around with the Lagiacrus swiftly moving with them. Every time the Seregios got within 100 feet, the bow users managed to push it back, their shots hitting it with pinpoint accuracy. The shouts of two hunters echoed through the air as Lagiacrus used its large tail to bat them into the sea, it's sites turning back to Desta who was ready for more.

"How about I take an eyes so we can match sweetheart, what do you think?" Desta laughed, dodging a harsh down swing from Lagiacrus. Desta the hopped on its claw, running up its arm, both hands on her handle as she doing-boarded off of its leg. The sword and shield fired a flash bug from their arm holster, blinding the Lagiacrus so Desta could have a clean shot.

"This is gonna hurt!" Desta shouted, stabbing her greatsword into the Lagiacrus's eye. It roared out in pain, wildly shaking its head to buck Desta off.

"Nice!" The sword and shield shouted, finally making his move. As he charged forward, Lagiacrus began to flow brilliantly, the crackling spark of electric surges growing in intensity.

"GREATSWORD GET OFF! IT'S ABOUT TO DISCHARGE!" the sword and shield yelled at the top of his lungs. Desta braced both feet onto the Lagiacrus's face, pushing off as hard as she could to dislodge her greatsword from its eye socket. As she pushed off, she was enveloped in the bright flash of electricity, a scream leaving her lips as she was blasted over the side of the ship. Desta, blinded by the white flash of electricity, launched her grappling hook, accidentally latching into the Seregios that was diving in for an attack.

"Oh shit!" Desta yelled, her body snapping up into the air. She clung onto her greatsword for dear life, managing to somehow sheath it so she could pull out her machete that was latched onto her belt. Still blind, she felt her body swinging around violently, the Seregios desperately trying to shake her off. She felt her body swing in a wild circle, finally swinging her machete to cut the line.

"Here we go! Desta shouted as she flew through the air as if lobbed like a shot put, her body crashing into the sea in a painful splash. Finally getting her sight back in order, she surfaced, her eye staring in disbelief as the ship capsized, Lagiacrus fumbling to climb around it until it rested on the bottom of the boat, roaring victoriously as it began to tussle with the Seregios immediately after.

"What the hell is going on? None of the reports from Astera mentioned anything about these two monsters at all...ugh...this is going to a bumpy ride out here," Desta groaned, immediately swimming towards the coast. As she swam, she began to curse to herself, realizing that all of her supplies were on board the ship that was nothing more but shambles now.

It was another 10 minutes before she finally made it to the shore, another ghastly image displaying itself before her. The whole HQ of Astera looked as if it were burnt to the ground; charred remains of the vendors and farming area had been reduced to ash, the only bit of the base left over being the floor boards in which she stood. Speechless, she began to slowly move about remains, concluding that the base had been abandoned for a very long time now.

"This is awful...what the hell am I supposed to do now..." Desta sighed heavily, thankful that she at least had her trusty weapon to keep her company. The sudden shuffling sounds of rapidly pattering feet put Desta on high alert, her right hand immediately grasping the handle of her greatsword to ready herself.

A soft gale of wind flew by her, her eyes looking around desperately to try and find it's source. The wind blew by her again, causing her to turn completely around, her eye still trying to find whatever was around her. She heard a low growl followed by the sound of what seemed to be a snake shaker. As the sounds began to fly towards her, she quickly drew her sword, spinning into a power swing that manage to catch the side of the monster. Turning, she saw a Tobin-kadachi, now glaring at her with a wound along its stomach.

"So you're the naughty boy trying to ambush me, you're going to have to try harder than that! Bring it!" Desta shouted, pointing her greatsword towards it. Tobi-kadachi then leapt forward, it's jaw trying to snap into Desta but catching air as she rolled to the side. Electricity began to crawl over Tobin-kodachi, it's mobility picking up as it began to run circles around Desta, who was growing fatigued from her swimming earlier. Tobin-kodachi managed to dig it's claws into Desta's side, causing her to growl in pain. She continued to sport a smile as heavy sweat began trailing down her face.

"Now things are getting interesting," Desta said, trying the feign weakness towards the monster. She suddenly spotted a flash bug flying around her as she rolled out of the way of another of Tobi-kodachi's attacks. She quickly snatched from the air, quickly loading it into her slinger. As Tobi-kodachi leapt at her, she fired off the flash bug, blinding the Tobi-kodachi. The Tobi-kodachi hit the ground hard, struggling to gain it's footing to stand. Taking a few steps towards it, Desta clenched her greatsword with both hands, a slight aura covering her frame. After a few more seconds, the aura around her flashed red, signaling to make her swing.

"Die!" Desta shouted, using every inch of her strength to swing down up on it. A loud shriek exited Tobi-kodachi's throat, blood splashing from behind its head onto Desta. She keep pressure down on her sword, digging it more and more into Tobi-kodachi until finally, it stopped moving. Desta's breathing grew heavy as she pulled her greatsword from the fresh carcass, using it to stand as she held onto her bleeding side.

"Damn...that hurt more than I thought...it would," she growled in pain. Using her machete, she began carving bits and pieces from Tobi-kodachi, using the finer parts of its skin to fashion a medical band to cover her wound and stop the bleeding. After situation herself the best she could, she latched her greatsword to her back and continued in.

Deeper in Desta went, more and more ruins coming into view until she encountered the workshop. The roof to the workshop had been completely torn off, leaving the forge decrepate, but still functioning. Poking around inside, she managed to find various weapons strewn about, much to her joy.

"At least there's SOMETHING to salvage, great,"she said, gathering up the weapons and putting them into a pile that she hid beneath moveable rubble.

The sun began to set, leaving the ruined base to bask in gloriously bright moonlight as she hobbled through the base, trying to find anything that could prove to be of use. Her vision began to blur as her exhaustion settled in, her objective to now find somewhere safe to rest. After 5 minutes or so of looking, she found a curtain that led into a room. Cautiously moving in with weapon in hand, she had found that the room was fairly untouched.

"Well lucky me..." Desta coughed, her strength weakening enough for her to drop her greatsword. Breathing heavily, she managed to find a bed, to which she sat to remove her armor. Never before had her armor felt so heavy, it was like keeping the weight of cannon balls on her shoulders. She had faced off against dozens of the fiercest monsters in existance, but here she was now, fighting a monster that she could normally handle with ease and getting heavily injured. All things considered she gave her pride a pass on it, not dwelling on it any further.

"I'm not sure if I can trust this place enough to sleep but...it seems I don't have much of a choice..." Desta groaned, laying back onto the deceptively comfy straw bed, resting her head on the tattered remains of a pillow. Her eyes stung as they close, the signs of a sleepless nights flashing behind her eyelids. A few minutes into her rest went by, the seemingly peaceful evening finally settling in until the ground began to lightly quake, the loud wompsh oh a footsteps following in its wake.

"What the hell was that?!" Desta spat, giving the sides of her face a small smack to get her going. Another step hit the ground, this time a little closer. Desta stepped and grabbed her greatsword, leaving her heavy armor on the floor. Anxiously, Desta awaited another rumbling step, moving her curtain just enough to have plain view of the main area. Suddenly a giant shadow flew over deck, the ground quaking violently as the massive monster landed like a meteor.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Desta said, her ever growing bad luck growing worse and worse. Looking closer, a horrifying realization slapping her in the face. There was mistaking the size and shape of the monster, what stood before her now was a Deviljoh. A cold sweat slid down her back as she watched it tear into the corpse of the Tobi-kodachi, devouring every morsel in no time at all.

Desta clenched her teeth tightly, limping slightly back into her little hidey hole to reequip her armor should the worst happen. Her sharp ears then picked up on something from the sea, the sounds of countless arms and legs paddling to shore. Her eyes widened at the realization of the possible outcome.

"Shit! If I'm not fast enough they're Joh food!" Desta yelped to herself, forcing her armor on as fast as she could. In minutes flat, Desta stood up, equipping her greatsword be for tightening her make shift Kodachi medical strap. The shouts and yells of the hunters swimming to shore made her heart race like a freight train, her witness and adrenaline kicking into overtime as she charged out of her resting place.

"GET AWAY FROM THEM YOU GODDAMN GLUTON!" Desta screamed at the top of her lungs, in matching her greatsword as she charged.

"RUN AWAY EVERYONE! GET OUT OF HERE! ITS A DEVILJOH!" Desta cried out as she finally grew close enough. Everyone immediately scattered, the Devilish turning it's hellish gaze towards Desta. It let an air piercing bellow of rage, charging towards Desta.

"Are you crazy?! You can't handle a Devilish on your own!" A familiar voice was the sword and shield from before, to scared to go within fifty feet of the starving tyrant. Desta continued waving it on, shouting and cursing at it to keep its attention as the other hunters managed to find cover. As Desta was about to retreat, Deviljoh took a mighty leap, blowing Desta back as it landed right in front of her, it's eyes and slits on its skin glowing blood red.

"Heh...looks like the monsters out here have some serious balls..." Desta said, trying mask her fear. She sheathed her greatsword, turning to run in the opposite direction. She remembered back home, Deviljoh could tire easily as long as you kept them moving. Devilish immediately rushed forward, taking another giant leap, this time narrowly missing Desta as she dove to evade.

"Tricky bastard aren't you..." Desta cursed to herself the Deviljoh slamming a foot down as hard as it could, causing the ground to tremor vigorously. Desta lost her footing as the pain from her side flared up, falling to a kneel before the gargantuan beast. She growled furiously as Deviljoh began charging its dragon breath, her strength truly failing her for the first time. Just as Deviljoh unleashed its powerful blast, the lance from either charged to her front, guarding her from the damage.

"Hunter Rule #1: NO HUNTER IS TO BE LEFT BEHIND!" The lance announced, his hefty armor keeping him from being pushed back. The other two hunters, the sword and shield and a bowgun took advantage of the situation as Deviljoh recoiled from its blast. It's attention turned towards the sword and shield, that began mocking it with a playful gesture. Deviljoh immediately charged at him, the sword and shield easily evading the the charge before taking off. As the Deviljoh began chasing him, the rapid firing sound of the other hunter's begun to pitter patter in the air, round afterround hitting Deviljoh without fail.

"One more round..." The bowgunner said, aiming carefully ahead of the Deviljoh to catch it. Pow Pow Pow! The bowgun shouted, three more rounds hitting Deviljoh. As the last round hit, Deviljoh practically stopped in his tracks, his hefty body swaying side to side before quaking the ground with it's massive body pounding on floor.

"Alright, it's tranquilized. I say we make our exit now, what do you all think?" The bowgunner said, smirking as he slung his weapon over his shoulder. Desta was helped off the ground by the lancer, who gave her a firm pat on the arm.

"I'm sure you would've done the same for me yeah?" He asked, Desta smiling and giving him a nod. The four hunters immediately left the main HQ to let the Deviljoh rest, God forbid that they be in its presence if it were to wake.

"Hey...I just noticed that none of us have our palicos with us...I hope they're alright..." The sword and shield sighed, leading the party forward. Fortunately it wasnt long until they found the first secured camp at the edge of the Ancient Forest, all of them taking a relieving sigh as they finally were given the opportunity to rest. Desta let out a grunt of pain as she sat at one of the improvised tables, removing the blood covered Tobi-kodachi hide that she had used to stop her bleeding. The lancer immediately noticed, moving over to sit across from her.

"I'm surprised you were able to move around so well with that injury of yours," he commented, Desta sighing and wincing in pain.

"A damn Tobi-kodachi ambushed me when I got to land. I killed it without too much issue but it got a good swing into me," Desta explained, immediately taking her armor off to help lift some weight off of her. The lancer was taken by surprise as she let her armor hit the ground; scars and wounds we tattooed all over body starting from her neck and ending at her ankles. Clearly she had been doing hunting for quite some time.

"When did you become a hunter um...whats your name?" The lancer inquired, Desta chuckling lightly.

"How about you introduce yourself as well big guy. I'm Desta, I hail from Kokoto Village. I've been a hunter since I was about 13. How about you?" Desta replied, the Lancet astounded yet again.

"THE Kotoko Village?! Wow, that's the village where legends were made. I'm Franz, I'm from a tiny place called Moga Village. Wow...you must know so many stories, being from Kotoko Village and all," Franz replied with excitement, telling Desta that he was a bit greener to the field of hunting.

"Yeah I've got a great one, it's a story of how I lost my eye to a Great Jagras. Long story short,it sucked," Desta snickered, disappointment mildly displlayed on Franz's face.

"I'll tell you a good one later, cheer up. I'm just tired as hell..." Desta said, casually trotting past the bowgunner and into the tent. The first night on their hellish journey finally comes to a close, what is in store for them deeper in, only time will tell, and hopefully by then, they will be ready.

To Be Continued...


End file.
